Chennai, Nov 16:Ā In a recent legal development, Justice S S Sundar of the Madras High Court (MHC) recused himself from hearing the plea of Minister Anitha R Radhakrishnan seeking to quash the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case against him. Instead, Justice Sundar directed the registry to present the matter before the Chief Justice for reassignment to another court hall.The case, initially slated to be heard by a division bench comprising Justice SS Sundar and Justice Sunder Mohan, took an unexpected turn when Justice S S Sundar opted out of presiding over the plea.
The roots of the case trace back to 2006 when the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) initiated a disproportionate assets case against Minister Radhakrishnan under the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988. The allegations centered around Radhakrishnan allegedly amassing wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income during his tenure as the Housing Minister in the 2001-2006 AIADMK regime.
Subsequently, in 2020, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered an additional case against the Minister under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002, based on findings from the DVAC investigation. The ED asserted that it had gathered various pieces of evidence, uncovering the unique modus operandi employed by the accused to channel unaccounted money into various bank accounts.
The ED further sought permission from the Thoothukudi court, overseeing the DVAC case, to assist in the disproportionate asset case. Minister Radhakrishnan, in response, moved the Madras High Court to challenge the case filed by the ED.